Pune's Batting Collapses and Falls Short

The Pune Warriors failed to chase down 178 and so the Deccan Chargers finally have their first win of the competition. The outlook doesn’t necessarily look all that great for this Deccan side, they still have managed to collect just three points from their first seven games, but a win here is a big confidence booster, especially considering the fact that top bowler Dale Steyn missed the game due to injury. It’s a pretty big blow to the Warriors and their campaign. They have now won four and lost five leaving themselves in a precarious position. After a really surprising start to the competition, the likes of Pune and Rajasthan have dropped down a bit, while some of the more expensive teams have surged to the top of the league table.

Pune’s chase of the target did actually start fairly positively. Sourav Ganguly and Robin Uthappa came together pretty early and looked like they were building a solid foundation to help make the chase. However, batting second is a tough task when you have any sort of tough total. Batsman got starts, but every wicket made it that much more difficult for this team. The Warriors have now lost two straight, and both have been at home.

The bowling was really encouraging for the Chargers especially considering Steyn’s absence. Kumar Sangakarra opted for a pair of spinners to open the bowling and it worked really well. JP Duminy managed to get through some overs and it seemed like the rest of the attack just fed off of that. Manpreet Gony and Juan Theron both bowled solid spells in a new look attack. Debutant Ashish Reddy really stole the show though picking up the important wickets of Uthappa and Marlon Samuels. He eventually finished with figures of 2-32.

A fine performance by Deccan and nice to see them get their first win.